Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-03-25
HIS LAST SERMON.

His LAST SERMON. -
LAST PULPIT WORDS OF REV.
HENRY WARD BEEcHER.
Delivered in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn,
on Sunday Evening, Feb. 27-Resolution
Standards.
"And he said unto his disciples: There was
a certain rich man which had servant, and
the same was accused unto him. y *.No
servant can serve two masters, for either he
will hate the one and love the other. or else
he will hold to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and Mammon."
Text-Luke, xvi, 4, the first clause: II am
resolved what to do"
read in your hearing this narrative. this
parable of our Lord The unjust steward had
been accused, and rightfully, of betraying
his trust and wasting that committed to him.
His master called him to an account, and he
was satisfied that the end had come, and he
communed with himself, and as the result of
that, and looking over all the circumstances,
What he resolved to do was not very honest,
but it was very shrewd. He resolved to make
friends of all the debtors of his lord. He
called them up and settled with them in such
a way as to lay them under obligations
gratitude to him. And SO, although he and
they cheated the master, he made his own
nest warm and the master praised him-not
Jesus, but the man that owned the property
is the one. When he heard that he said to
himself: "Well, that is shrewd; that is cum
ming; that is wise," and the comment on it is:
Children of this world are wiser than the
children OF light; that is to say, men who are
acting in worldly reasons, for worldly reasons,
are very much wiser than the men becoming
good from the highest moral considerations.
But that that they have selected is simply
this: II am resolved what to do.n
What, then, is the nature Of resolution
what is the scope of it, the potency? And what
are the drawbacks? The self-consideration of
these questions may throw light upon the path of
many of us. Now, our long effort of making up
our mind is equivalent to forming a purpose.
When man resolves he means, or should mean,
to do something; and all resolutions carry or
should carry, not simply the end sought, but also
the capable and necessary means by which the
end is sought I am resolved to cross that river,
by the bridge, by boat or by swimming To
stand on one side and to resolve to be on the
other, without any intermediate means of doing
it, would be folly indeed. I am resolved to-nror-
row to go to market. All the intermediate and
implied steps by which that resolution could be
carried out are included in the resolution itself.
resolution is a purpose IN so far as simple
things, uncompounded, incomplete. con-
cerned. A resolution may be executed immedi
ately, without loss of time; indeed, the greatest
number of resolutions are those which, like the
n 10 of hn
gun, are almost without any appreciate inter
lapse Of time. Il am resolved what to do
Natural resolutions At the cry of fire the man
instantly looks out to what to do; at the call
of man to step to the door and see a stranger or
friend; he resolves to do it; although the reso-
luton is latent in such sense by repetition he is
not conscious of making up his mind.
In regard to a great many of the acts of a
mans life, celebraton-that is to say, the action
of the bran-haS become common that it takes
place without any appreciate appearance of TAX
ing place. multitude of things-if one gets in
a crowd, and man would strike him. his defense
is not the result Of reflection, and yet it was in
him as result of experience to protect himself;
and, if it be shadow, it is just the same, for a
shadow seems like a substance, and he puts him
self in ludicrous attitude of defense; he smiles,
and he goes on, but the action of the mind, the
unconscious cerebration. is there. IL
AS, for instance, in things that apply to the
resolves and executes almost at the same mo-
ment. The child calls from above Father"
and incidentally there is no thought whether he
shall or shall not answer, yet the train goes on
without him and he replies. MY son, what?'' Or
the call has come to him for help, and he in
stantly before the last echo of the sound dies out
of his ear, is on his feet, on his way. But these
are very simple things; they are the primary
forms, which afterward, becoming more and
more complicated, running through longer
periods of time, imply great many intermediate
steps. For a man can resolve that he will go to
bed-it doesn't take long, either-he resolves that
to morrow morning he will get up and go "cruis.
ing but tomorrow is dark and stormy, and the
resolution is not half so strong when he wakes up
as it was when he went to bed. There are great
many considerations that come. Or the man re-
solves that tomorrow he will go to market;
neighbors come in; he waits; it is noon, and then
time is too little to go. And come again" And
he puts it off until the next morning. So between
the resolution and the night-for one takes hold
upon the other-there is delay and the interme-
diate history.
Now, as you go on in life, as society itself be-
comes more complex-civilization is growth in
complexities the things that you resolve to do
or not to do are largely in their times and are
clustered together by cause and effect resolu-
lions spreading over SO long spaces and so much
ntermediatism is somewhat different from the
first resolve.
Resolution, then, means purpose. the will it.
self; and it includes in it, also, all indispensable
intermediate steps; and some resolutions execute
themselves Immediately; some with some delay;
some with long delay; some, through many subor-
dinate resolutions that carry out the primary
one. And man may resolve at critical mo-
ment that which will determine the whole charac-
ter of his life; yea, he may determine in any one
single, final moment that Which will take the
whole of his life to carry into effect. This is the
case of ten thousand men. When my father was
young q lad Che was brought up by, substantially.
an uncle), he had in him all that necessary tc
make him what he was in his professional life.
But he didn't do it, he was careless; he was heed.
less be was forgetful of things external; and Sc
Uncle Lot Benton one morning, going out, found
that being out late with the horses the night be,
fore visiting some young company, the bride was
placed over the water trough and the saddle was
thrown down behind the stable door, and the
horses turned in without a halter, and he said
''Oh WELL Lyman will never make a farmer; he
is not fitted for it, And SO talking in the orchard
with him one day. he says Lyman, how would
you like to go to college:' No answer. They
went on working all day. Next day, about the
same hour, as they were working together in the
orchard, Lyman says: II would like to go. sir. "
That settled it. In that beginning was a purpose
that shaped differently his whole life; itnever
gave out; it branched in every direction; he
made what he was; that was owing to the part.
ing; by not, he would have been miserable far
mer; he made tolerably good minister and a
tolerably good father.
&c. then, man may form resolution without
noise, without parade, but that with infinite Sc.
quences in its development. 1t may include in
itself short process and an intermediate; it may
include in itself long process; it may include in
itself the whole scope of mans life, and thrice
ten thousand resolutions will be formed success
lively to carry out the great primary resolution
which a man makes.
The general. qualities of the resolutions which
men make are of every grade; even frail woman,
walking in the boisterous March wind may find
that with all the sail she carries she cannot make
Roadway against it, and supports herself by a
fence that is stiff enough to hold her until the
wind lulls. And as it Is in the community so it is
+ in regard to individuals there are mauy persons
whc left to themselves, wa9ef: they do 50 some,
ti,r1ee from good reasons. sometimes from those
NOT -. GOOD sometimes because the purposes
were formed In moment of excitement and have
nothing left of then, when the excitement eools.
There is instability also arising fro disability of
Organization; that is to say, q man may be sus.
ceptible while one class of effects is being pro.
duced, and il that mood he may fo1nl a resolu.
ton. but tomorrow some other blessed. beautiful
thing may come up, and he is just as Susceptible
Of thai and the secondary state Of SaipS, nhlit